Santa Baby
by GuineaGriff
Summary: Louisa persuades the Doc to find his inner Christmas Spirit even though it has been hidden very deeply for a very long time
1. Chapter 1

**AN** :– We couldn't resist writing a quick Christmas story. Set somewhere between series 2 and series 3. Thanks to Diane for her beta work on the story.

**Disclaimer** :– Doc Martin and its characters belong to Buffalo Pictures Ltd, which is probably a good thing really or the poor Doc would be worn out by now. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating** :– T – just for some minor language and slight sexual references.

**Santa Baby**

by 

GuineaGriff

(aka littleguinea & GriffinStar)

"What did you say?" asked Martin, his incredulity evident by the tone of his voice.

"I said…" repeated Louisa, who was by this time getting more than just a little bit annoyed, "Father Christmas has just tripped and launched himself head first into the Christmas tree in the school hall. I think he's injured his arm."

"Well… call an ambulance then. I have a surgery full of people here, Louisa; I can't just keep abandoning them every time you have a minor incident at the school."

"Minor incident…" Louisa's calm, swan like exterior was by now starting to crumble. "Martin, he may be concussed; he certainly looks to be out of it anyway."

"Well, why didn't you say he had a head injury; of course, that puts a different light on the situation. I'll be there as soon as I can," replied Martin as he started to gather up his medical bag.

"Good," said Louisa as she peered through the door, only to see the hall filled with sobbing and hysterical four and five-year-olds.

Martin sprinted down the hill and straight to the school doors where Louisa was waiting for him.

"Thank God, Martin. The children are in a terrible state. They all think that Father Christmas has died and isn't going to be able to deliver their presents on Christmas Eve."

Martin just stood there, transfixed by the sight of Louisa in a very short green tunic, bright red tights, pixie shoes and a green pointed hat to match her green pointy ears.

Noticing that Martin was standing in the doorway of the school with his mouth slightly agape, Louisa said, "I'm one of Santa's little helpers, an elf… hence the outfit."

"Ah, yes, so you are. Makes a change from being a pirate I suppose. Right, where is he then?" said Martin, brushing past her into the school corridor.

Louisa felt herself tingle as his hand touched hers on the way through the door. "Just through there in the hall," she gestured.

As they approached, Martin could hear the children wailing.

"Oh, God, can't you shut them up or something."

"Err, Martin, for a four-year-old, seeing Father Christmas lying unconscious under the Christmas tree is rather a traumatic sight, you know," said Louisa, exasperated that Martin's insensitivity obviously knew no bounds.

"Hmmm, I didn't believe in Father Christmas by the time I was four… actually, I can't ever remember believing in him."

Louisa just looked across at Martin in disbelief. Was there anything at all normal about his upbringing, she wondered?

Martin knelt down beside the man in red. He carefully opened one, then the other of his eyelids to check his pupils. Then he reached for his wrist to check his pulse. Everything was as it should be, so Martin started to carry out a more thorough examination.

He rolled Father Christmas over onto his back and immediately he could recognise the unmistakable smell of whiskey on the man's breath.

As the children all caught sight of Santa, now lying flat on his back, they let out a blood curdling screech.

Martin looked around and saw several "elves" trying to console the hysterical children. He noted that not one of them was any where near as attractive in their outfits as Louisa was. In fact, seeing Louisa in her skimpy costume had stirred something within him. He loved seeing her in red, and the thought of seeing her peeling off those bright red tights was making him rather hot under the collar.

"Oh for goodness sake," he mumbled under his breath before standing and waving his arms in the air to attract the children's attention.

"Listen up."

When they didn't respond he shouted, "Shut up!"

Louisa looked across at him nervously, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Will you please BE QUIET!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

On hearing this, the children all sat quaking in silent terror.

Pointing at Father Christmas, Martin said, "Don't you realise that this stupid cretin isn't going to be the one that deliv…"

Louisa started clapping her hands loudly to drown out Martin's words. "Now then children, maybe it would be a good idea if you went back to your classrooms whilst Dr Ellingham makes Santa all better," she interrupted quickly, as she glared across the hall at Martin. She knew that he was just about to shatter the illusions of the entire infant population of Portwenn and the surrounding areas.

"What do you think you are doing?" she hissed at him.

"Honesty never did me any harm as a child," he stated bluntly.

"That's debatable," mumbled Louisa to herself.

"Pardon?"

"Err, that's an inflatable," replied Louisa whilst pointing awkwardly at a blow-up reindeer that was standing next to the tree.

Martin cast her a puzzled glance and then went back to administering to the prostrate Father Christmas.

Louisa decided it was best to usher all of the children back to their respective classrooms and leave Martin to do what he did best.

As Martin approached, he could see that Father Christmas was just attempting to sit up.

"Whatsssss happened to me," slurred Santa.

"Well, it appears that you've fallen, due to the fact that you are inebriated," said Martin in disgust. "Is there anywhere at all that hurts ?"

"Only my 'ead," replied Father Christmas.

"Hmm, well again that's probably due to the fact that you are out of your skull."

"Jusssst patch me up and then I'll 'ave to get on with disssshing out the prezziessss. Got to drive over to Delabole Primary Ssschool, more sprogs over there to sssee to."

After giving him a thorough going over and satisfying himself that the only thing wrong with the shambles of a man in front of him was an over dependency on alcohol, Martin called PC Penhale.

Returning from the reception class, Louisa was just in time to see the police officer marching Santa out of the hall.

Running across to where Martin stood, Louisa cried, "Martin…tell me I haven't just seen Santa in handcuffs…pleeaase!"

"He was drunk and he had every intention of getting back into his car to drive to Delabole. I reported him to PC Penhale," said Martin rather proudly.

"Well, thank you very much. What do you expect me to say to the children that are sitting through there, already suffering from post traumatic stress disorder," shrieked Louisa.

"Now you're just being ridiculous… _as usual_," snorted Martin.

"What do you mean, _as usual_, Martin?"

"He was drunk. There was no way that he should be going any where near those children, let alone a car. You know, you always have to find fault in me don't you? I can't do anything right in your eyes. Tell me, Louisa, what do I have to do to please you?" exclaimed Martin.

Louisa looked at Martin and then ran out of the school hall.

"That's it, just run away. Let's not even bother trying to sort out our damned stupid relationship," Martin shouted after her.

"Shut up, Martin," Louisa shouted back as she reached the front of the school and dashed out into the playground.

"Well, really," he grumbled to himself as he started gathering together his equipment and placing it back into his bag.

He was just about to leave when Louisa came dashing back into the school with a red Santa suit in her arm.

"Here," she said, thrusting the costume into Martin's chest. "Put this on; that'll please me."

"What?"

"You heard me. I am not going to have those children going home disappointed. You'll have to stand in for Santa," said Louisa firmly.

"I can't stand in for… for Santa," spat Martin.

"Why not, Martin? All you have to do is sit there and say Ho! Ho! Ho! a few times. Even you can't mess that up."

"I have patients to see to back at the surgery."

"I'll call Pauline; she'll book them all new appointments."

"But, but I can't, because… um… that man was about five foot nine, I'm six foot three; the costume will never fit me," replied Martin, a wave of relief washing over him.

"It doesn't matter if the trousers are a bit short we'll just tuck them into your boots. Come on, Martin, it'll be good to get you out of that suit… err, and into a Santa suit," Louisa quickly corrected herself and she grabbed the costume back off him, got hold of his arm and dragged him across to her office.

Pushing him inside she said, "There, you can get changed in here. And don't forget your beard. No one will recognise you with that lot on."

The door slammed shut and Martin stood there in horror, gazing down at the bright red outfit that Louisa had placed on her desk.

Maybe if he just did this, then she might actually cut him a bit of slack, he thought.

With a very heavy sigh, he started to get undressed and slowly transformed himself into a rather awkward and uncomfortable Father Christmas.

Several minutes later, Louisa knocked on her office door, before slowly opening it. Standing stiffly in the middle of the floor was the strangest looking Father Christmas she thought she had ever seen. Unable to contain her amusement, she burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Right, that's it, I can't do this, Louisa," said Martin, his pride well and truly hurt.

"No, no, really… you look, well you look fine… sort of," replied Louisa, still struggling to contain her giggles.

"It's just, well it's your ears Martin, they are sticking out. Can't you pull your hat over them?" asked Louisa, hopefully.

"No, I can not. Don't you think I've tried?"

"Here, let me see," she said, as she reached up and tried to pull the hat further down his head.

"Ouch! Do you mind? I know if an article of clothing fits or not," said Martin indignantly.

"Hmm, that's not going to do at all, is it?" pondered Louisa.

Reaching for a bag of cotton wool balls and a Pritt Stick, Louisa said, "Hang on; I know, I'll just get some of this and glue it on here."

"Hey, wait a minute, what do you think you're doing. You can't stick that onto my ears," said Martin in a very high-pitched voice.

"Don't worry, Martin. The glue is water soluble, it'll soon come off and this will cover your ears up a treat," said Louisa, very pleased with her ingenuity. "There, looks just like hair now. You look rather sweet," she said, as she reached up and pinched his cheeks.

"Now, all that is left is for you to practice your Ho! Ho! Ho's!"

Martin raised his eyebrows, but Louisa raised hers higher.

"Ho, ho, ho," he said, flatly and without feeling.

"Oh, come on, Martin, you can put more passion into it than that."

"HO! HO! HO!"

"That's better. Now all you have to do is sit down, let them sit on your knee if they want to and ask them what they want for Christmas."

"You said I just needed to say Ho, Ho, Ho," grimaced Martin. "And why do they have to sit on my knee?"

"Because that's what Santa does, doesn't he?"

"How do you know? Santa doesn't exist and hasn't ever existed," replied Martin.

Louisa glared at Martin, and he could tell by the look that she was in no mood to put up with his combative behaviour.

"Alright, let's just get on with it," he said through gritted teeth.

~ x ~

"Hello, Santa," said a very excited little boy who was now standing directly in front of Martin.

"Yes," replied Martin.

"I've been a very good boy this year."

"I should hope so," said Martin, grumpily.

"Don't you want to know what I want for Christmas?" asked the little boy, who was now trying to clamber onto Martin's knee with very little help from "Santa".

"Yes."

"I want a Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix."

"Never heard of one," said Martin, in an uninterested tone.

"But Santa knows everything, that's what my mum says."

"Well, this one doesn't. Ho, Ho, Ho. Goodbye," said Martin gruffly as he nudged the little boy off his knee.

Louisa passed the boy a present and then went over to Martin. "Can't you at least try and be friendly with them, Martin. You were that age once you know, and I can't believe that you didn't get excited at Christmas; every little boy gets excited at Christmas."

Martin looked at Louisa and opened his mouth, about to reply, when she interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter Martin, I don't think I want to know."

Martin closed his mouth again and put his hands on his lap. He thought that way it might discourage the children from clambering up him.

"Lucy Drew, come on over and meet Santa," shouted Louisa to the little girl who was talking away to her friends and paying little attention to whom was next in the queue or to what Louisa was saying.

"LUCY DREW, COME OVER HERE NOW OR I WILL NOT BRING YOU ANY PRESENTS THIS YEAR," yelled Martin.

On hearing Santa's bellowing voice, Lucy burst into tears and ran towards the nearest elf, who started shaking her head in Martin's direction.

"Well, really. Oversensitive little brat," Martin mumbled.

The next boy that came forward and stood in front of Martin was covered in some sort of white sticky substance. The corner of Martin's upper lip curled in disgust. It was all over the boy's hands, face and hair.

"What is that child covered in?" Martin asked Louisa with a thoroughly repulsed look on his face.

"Oh dear, it's a snowball pudding that they had after their Christmas dinner today. I'm afraid that William had four in a row."

Louisa took out a paper handkerchief from under her tunic and proceeded to dab the child's hands with little success, as the sticky white goo was well and truly attached and wasn't budging.

Martin couldn't help but glance down at Louisa's dress as she returned the tissue, but quickly turned away as she looked over at him.

"Do you feel better now, William?" and turning to Martin she whispered, "He was sick before I'm afraid. Eyes too big for his belly."

"Oh, God," sighed Martin.

"Can I sit on your knee?" asked the sticky boy as he put his hands out to try and grab hold of Martin's arms.

"If you must," mumbled Martin. "Turn around and put your arms down by your sides," he continued, as he got hold of the boy under the elbows and lifted him carefully onto his lap.

The little boy shuffled himself around so that he could see Santa's face.

Martin couldn't believe that one child could be so disgustingly dirty.

"Have you been a good boy this year?" asked Santa. "And what would you like for Christmas?"

Louisa thought that Martin was finally getting the hang of things, so she decided that it might be safe to go and check on the Year 6 class, who were having to make do with a supply teacher for the day.

When she returned, she found the sticky little boy still sitting on Martin's knee.

"Err, come on, William, don't you think you've been there long enough?"

But then Louisa realised that William had hold of the cotton wool on Martin's ears and that Martin was holding on to William's hands to ensure that he didn't rip the cotton wool away.

"Santa won't let me go," moaned the boy.

"That's because his hands are stuck to this bloody stupid cotton…"

"Ahem, Santa, we don't use words like that in this school," Louisa quickly interceded.

"Will you please get this child off my ears," hissed Martin.

Louisa carefully peeled away William's hands. When they were free Louisa could see that there was actually more cotton wool on the boy's fingers than there was on Martin's ears.

"Santa's hair is falling out," cried William.

"Yes, well… erm, he is rather old you know, and that's what happens when people get old," said a flustered Louisa.

"And he was looking at your bum before. Santa's a pervert," said William, glaring across at Martin.

"Well, thank you very much," grumbled Martin.

"Maybe we'll just hurry them along a bit now, times getting on," said Louisa, starting to regret ever asking Martin to stand in for Father Christmas.

Things really went quite smoothly once they got into a good routine and Louisa even thought that she saw Martin smiling at one little girl. She had beautiful long dark hair, large blue eyes and the most gorgeous smile.

Martin was actually starting to at least tolerate his new job and when little Amy came and sat on his lap with her long shiny dark hair and twinkling eyes, he imagined that was what Louisa must have been like as a girl, as she was so pretty and so dainty.

Next another little boy shuffled up to Martin and said 'hello' in a very quiet voice.

"Hello, little boy, and what is your name?" asked Martin in his best Santa voice.

"Alexander," replied the boy timidly.

Louisa leaned over to Martin and whispered, "Alexander's a bit sensitive at the moment. He's having a hard time at home and the other children are being pretty nasty to him, so please don't upset him."

Martin looked from Louisa to the little boy and recognised the vulnerability in him. It reminded him of himself at that age.

"Why don't you come and sit on my knee, Alexander?" said Martin kindly.

The little boy allowed Martin to lift him gently onto his knee. Martin put a protective arm around the boy's waist.

Louisa looked on in amazement as she saw that Martin was actually getting Alexander to open up to him, something the little boy hadn't done for a long time. She watched as Martin said something to the boy that made him giggle and smile.

All of a sudden, Louisa saw the left leg of Martin's costume turn a darker shade of red and moisture started to drip onto the carpet.

Realising that Alexander had almost certainly wet himself, she rushed over, fearing that Martin would start to shout at the boy. Instead, she saw that Martin was consoling the little chap, and he even reached over to find one of the better presents to give to him.

"Come on, Alexander, let's go and get you changed, shall we?" said Louisa. But Martin held onto the little boy's hand and said,

"Remember what I said, Alexander."

Letting go, Martin rubbed his eyes briefly, and Louisa was sure that she had seen a tear trickle down his cheek.

She led the little boy away as the final child approached Santa.

A very snotty, chubby little boy, with short-cropped hair came forward and plonked himself onto Martin's knee.

"Errrrrrr, did Alexander piss himself on your knee?" said the boy. "He's always doin' that, he's a big baby."

Martin glared at the boy and he could feel his hackles rising.

"Santa isn't real you know, you're Doc Martin, you are. I can tell by your big flappy ears," laughed the boy.

"Fine, bugger off then," said Martin through gritted teeth. He parted his knees and the boy fell to the floor beneath him.

The boy stood up, burst into tears and started to rub his bottom frantically.

"Oh dear, did that hurt? What a shame," sneered Martin as he stood up and left the boy standing there with a bruised ego and no present to show for his troubles.

~ x ~

"So how am I supposed to get back to the surgery unnoticed wearing this stupid outfit? I don't want to put my suit back on until I've had a shower, and although Pauline cancelled my appointments, she is still running her phlebotomy clinic, and I am not walking in looking like this," he stated grumpily, once he had finally seen all the children. He was reverting back to his usual grumpy self after having been so sensitive with Alexander.

"Um, well, it's nearly home time, so why don't you come back to my cottage to shower and get changed and then I could cook you something to eat, by way of a thank you?"

"Oh, um, yes, alright, that'd be… nice, thank you."

"What did you tell Alexander by the way? He was like a different boy after he'd talked to you," asked Louisa, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I told him that he was special and that as long as he believes in himself, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks." Martin looked up at Louisa and he could see her eyes glistening.

"He thought I was going to hit him when he wet himself; he told me that's what happens at home. His mother doesn't have any time for him now she has a new boyfriend," Martin sighed.

"I suspected as much," said Louisa. "I was going to have a word with Social Services about him."

"I think that's a good idea. I noticed a few suspicious bruises on his wrists and arms. If you need any support, just let me know," said Martin very sincerely.

Louisa gathered up Martin's clothes in a bag for him and started to head towards the door. Martin held her arm gently and pulled her round to face him.

"You asked me if I got excited at Christmas when I was a child, but you didn't let me answer." Martin looked towards the floor to compose himself and then he raised his eyes to Louisa's.

"The only Christmas that I ever remember with any fondness was the year when I came to stay with Aunty Joan and Uncle Phil. Mother and Father had decided to go to France over the Christmas period and I was so upset about staying at boarding school over the holidays that Aunty Joan said she'd have me. They made such a fuss of me. The presents I got weren't expensive. Phil had made most of them, but to me they were the most thoughful things that anyone had ever given me."

Louisa reached out and held Martin's hand as he struggled to continue.

"Normally, mother would ask my father's secretary to go and buy me a couple of presents; she thought I didn't know, but I did. She didn't even bother to wrap them or to write the label herself. I was just in the way, I was an inconvenience. An object of disgust in her eyes, something that prevented her from enjoying her extravagant lifestyle when I was around. As soon as she could, she would send me back to boarding school, back to the hurtful and cruel environment that became normal to me."

By this time tears were slowly falling down Louisa's cheeks and she brushed them delicately away.

"I wish I had been one of those excited little boys that I saw today. I wanted to be a normal child, I wanted to believe in Father Christmas, but I had to grow up too quickly. If I hadn't, I don't think I would have survived."

Louisa pulled Martin into her and held him closely. Pulling away slightly, she looked into his eyes and she could see all the lonely years, all the regrets, but most of all she could see a very proud man who had just opened up his heart to her and very courageously taken her into his confidence.

She closed the gap between them and kissed him tenderly on the lips, before carefully cupping her hand around the back of his neck and pulling his head gently down onto her shoulder.

Louisa stroked the hair on the back of his head, like she would do if she were soothing one of her pupils. He raised his head until his forehead rested on hers.

"I care for you very much, Louisa. Thank you for trusting me with the children in your care."

After a few minutes spent together in this way, they both cleared their throats and composed themselves, ready to make their way home after gathering up all their belongings.

As they headed out of her office, Martin looked at Louisa in horror.

"You aren't going out on the streets wearing….just that, are you?" he said, nodding his head at her short tunic. He'd very much enjoyed looking at her legs in it, but didn't like the idea of her walking round the village in it.

"Don't worry, I'm putting my coat on over the top; that's how I came to work this morning. When I get home I'll take a quick shower and get changed – you can join me and shower too …that is I mean…take it in turns…..to shower," Louisa said, all flustered at what she had implied.

"Oh yes, umm…I see," Martin agreed, blushing slightly, helping Louisa to carry all her parcels. It had been the last day of term, and lots of children had given her presents. They hurried along, making a rather curious pair, Santa and his helper. Bert Large chuckled to himself as he saw them, shouting out,

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do Santa, those elves can be a bit of a hand full …lots of naughty tricks, if you know what I mean."

Neither Martin nor Louisa replied, both deciding it was best to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, and it wasn't long before they arrived at Louisa's cottage and quickly made their way inside.

"Just put the parcels over there, would you?" Louisa pointed as she took her coat off.

As Martin complied with her instruction, he couldn't help staring again at her as she took her coat off. He was in no hurry for her to get changed, as he had taken a real shine to her elf outfit. Louisa noticed his look, and was rather pleased at the effect her outfit was having on the normally restrained Doc.

"Thanks again for all your efforts today, Martin, especially with Alexander. I think maybe you deserve a reward," she told him with a saucy smile.

"I, err…was glad to help. And that boy needs monitoring, as I said…" He watched intrigued as Louisa picked up a piece of mistletoe from an arrangement she had, walked over to where he was now sitting at the table, draped herself on his lap, and put her arm round his neck. She held the mistletoe over his head and gently kissed him on the lips. Martin was rather taken aback, but soon got into the spirit of things, putting his hands round her waist and kissing her back. However, just as things were getting interesting, Louisa squealed,

"I think I've been sitting on the knee that Alexander pee'd on, I'm getting rather damp!" as she jumped up.

"Oh, God, yes, right, I'd better have that shower and get changed out of this ridiculous outfit, " Martin replied, embarrassed, but disappointed to have their romantic interlude cut short.

"Okay, well how about I show you where everything is, then I'll make a start on supper while you shower, and then you can watch over it while I shower," Louisa suggested.

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan," Martin said as he picked up the bag with his clothes in and followed Louisa up the stairs to her bathroom, trying not to look too closely at her figure in the skimpy outfit, but failing miserably. She seemed to be wiggling her bottom in a most enticing way it seemed to him, and he thought he would have to have a rather cool shower to calm himself down.

"Right, here's a clean towel, the biggest one I've got. I don't usually have such big….I mean …tall guests," Louisa said as she passed it to him and showed him how her shower worked. "See you downstairs when you're done."

~ x ~

Martin made his way downstairs after his shower, now dressed once more in his usual suit, but for once without his tie which he had been unable to find in the bag of his clothes. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear Louisa singing along to some Christmas music that was playing as she prepared their meal.

"_I've been an awful good girl, Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_….."

She looked adorable, standing and stirring the pan on the hob, her cheeks flushed from the heat, swaying to the music as she sang, making her little outfit ride up just a bit more. He also noticed that she had opened a bottle of wine, which maybe contributed to her flushed cheeks too.

"Umm…You haven't seen my tie have you, it wasn't with the rest of my clothes?" Martin enquired.

"Errr, no, it must have got left behind in my office somehow" Louisa lied. She'd hidden it away in the drawer of her desk at school, because she was determined to see Martin less formally attired for once, and was now a bit disappointed to see that he'd still buttoned his shirt up right to the top. Before he could ask any more questions, she quickly changed the subject.

"Can you just carry on stirring this sauce, it's nearly done; it's to go with this pasta which is also nearly cooked. I'll just go and have a quick shower. Help yourself to a glass of wine if you want – I know you don't usually drink, but, hey, it's Christmas, and you could let your hair down for once," Louisa teased him as she pecked him on the cheek on her way to the stairs.

"No thanks, I don't drink, has an appalling affect on the lover…..I mean liver," Martin hastily corrected himself as he took over in the kitchen.

Louisa smiled to herself as she left the room – Martin had finally told her that he cared for her earlier, which she was pretty happy about - if he would only let himself go and relax a bit romantically. He certainly seemed keen enough when they'd kissed earlier, so maybe if she played her cards right this evening…..

As Martin expertly stirred the sauce to prevent it from catching, he looked around. Louisa's house was so welcoming and cosy it seemed to him. He was really looking forward to spending the evening with her, so he supposed it had been worth the indignity of having to pretend to be Santa to the school children and wear that ridiculous outfit. He hated Christmas, mainly because he had so few happy memories of it to draw on.

The sauce and pasta were now cooked, so he got them ready to serve as soon as Louisa reappeared after her shower. Why women took so long he had no idea; he could be in and out of the shower in five minutes flat. He sat at the table and cast his eye over the parcels he had carried in for Louisa. One was already opened and he stared at it intrigued.

"_The perfect boyfriend_" the packaging read. "_Always at hand to listen and cuddle, this guy is all you ever wanted_"

"Ah, I see you've found my Secret Santa present, an inflatable boyfriend. Do you think they're trying to tell me something?" Louisa asked with a wry smile as she came back into the room. "Still I suppose it's a bit better than last year's present – that was willy-shaped pasta, which went straight in the bin"

"Good grief, whoever buys such rubbish?" Martin asked horrified, but was then transfixed as he looked at Louisa. She was wearing a pair of very well cut jeans that showed off her curvy figure, and a red silky blouse that showed just a hint of cleavage. He swallowed hard to keep his feelings in control. She looked stunning.

"Well I have a sneaky suspicion that it was Sally Chadwick who bought mine this year. She thinks I should join a dating agency like her to get a suitable man," Louisa replied.

"You're not going to, are you?" Martin asked, appalled at the idea.

"Well I don't know. Can you think of anyone in the village who might be a suitable partner for me, eh Martin?" Louisa teased as she served up their food.

"I couldn't say…that is….I'm sure there are lots of men who…." Martin still couldn't quite bring himself to say out loud what he really wanted to say, to shout from the rooftops. "_Me. Choose me, Louisa. I want to be your partner._"

They sat and ate their meal companionably, chatting - well mostly Louisa chatting and Martin listening. But he found himself relaxing and enjoying the evening more and more. He found himself thinking about how nice it would be to spend most evenings in her company, in fact to be with her every day. It would be pretty wonderful, he decided, and as for the nights, spending nights with her, sharing a bed… well, he could feel himself blushing just at the thought of it.

"Are you alright, Martin, you've gone rather red. Is it a bit hot in here for you? I'm doing all the talking, I really shouldn't be such a chatter box, hogging the conversation," Louisa apologised as they sat, having finished their meal and put the plates to one side.

"No, no, I don't mind, really….I like to listen to you actually," Martin said, shyly reaching across and taking her hand in his.

Louisa squeezed his hand back, and then reached over to tenderly touch his cheek with her other hand.

"What are you doing for Christmas? Are you spending it with Joan?" Louisa asked him.

"Probably, she always has a house full of lonely souls. She gathers them up and looks after them, and I get dragged in too. I'm really not bothered about Christmas anyhow, just an over commercialised day like any other as far as I'm concerned," Martin told her.

"Oh, I see. I'm supposed to be going to some friends for Christmas Day. No doubt I'll get the usual grilling about me still being single, can't I find a man, don't I know my biological clock is ticking, etc. etc."

"Sounds ghastly"

"It is, now I come to think of it. I don't suppose…" Louisa looked at Martin tentatively.

"What?"

"Well, this is really nice, just the two of us here, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is," Martin agreed. He meant it too; it was pretty much perfect to him.

"Well, maybe we could spend Christmas Day together….if you'd like to. We could share the cooking; after all we made a pretty good team today, didn't we?"

"I'd like that. I'd like that very much, Louisa." Martin felt a kind of warm glow permeate through him at the thought of spending Christmas with Louisa. Joan wouldn't mind if he didn't spend the day with her. He knew she'd be delighted for him to be with another woman, especially if it was Louisa.

"This has been one of the nicest evenings I've had since ….well I can't remember having a nicer one, come to think of it," Martin confessed.

"It's not over yet Martin," Louisa said as she leaned across the table to kiss him. The kiss was a lingering, sensual one, and Martin could feel his temperature rising again.

"Is it me or is it hot in here?" he found himself asking as he gazed into Louisa's eyes.

"Oh, it's hot alright, so why don't you loosen up a bit?" said Louisa as she reached over to undo the top button of his shirt. He had automatically done it up out of habit as he dressed after his shower, even though he had no tie to put on.

Martin felt his pulse race at the touch of her fingers at his neck as she pulled his shirt open. Then she stood up, pulling Martin up too and putting her arms around him as she started to kiss him again.

Just as Louisa thought things were finally progressing nicely, they were interrupted by the sound of Martin's mobile phone ringing.

"Bugger!" said Martin, hesitating for a few seconds; but ever the conscientious doctor, he had no option but to answer it, reluctantly pulling himself away from Louisa as he retrieved the phone from his pocket.

"Ellingham," he barked into the phone.

Louisa sighed as she moved to clear up in the kitchen. As usual, something was going to stop them getting...romantic. She'd really thought, really hoped that maybe tonight she and Martin would make some progress in their relationship, but it seemed it was not to be.

"What? What kind of accident? What kind of health and safety incident?" Martin was bellowing into his phone.

Louisa looked over, concerned.

"What on earth are you prattling on about? Is this some sort of prank, Bert Large? You're talking about 'elf' rather than 'health'? Santa being ministered to by an elf wearing a green tunic and red tights, so you think he needs a doctor? Oh grow up, Bert," Martin said as he slammed his phone shut and threw it down.

"What was that all about?" Louisa asked him in total bewilderment.

"Bert and one of his puerile jokes. You know how he saw us together in our outfits? Well, now he's spreading stupid gossip round the village."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Martin. I should never have asked you to be Santa, it's made things very awkward for you."

"Well, at least it was a false alarm rather than a genuine call out. So…where were we then?" Martin asked as he boldly took her in his arms and started kissing her again, much to Louisa's delight. Maybe this evening could turn out to be pretty romantic after all, she thought to herself ….

~ x ~


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer :– Doc Martin and its characters belong to Buffalo Pictures Ltd. No copyright infringement intended.

Rating :– T –for some slight sexual references.

Santa Baby – Chapter 2

by

GuineaGriff

(aka littleguinea & GriffinStar)

"No, Marty, I'm delighted. I think it's wonderful that you and Louisa are going to spend Christmas Day together," Joan assured her nephew.

The truth of the matter was that he normally sat in the corner looking as miserable as hell at Christmas when he joined her and her assorted guests – that was if he wasn't working, which he usually did as an excuse to get out of the celebrations. How he had managed to get a beautiful woman like Louisa interested in a crusty old bachelor like him she wasn't really sure, but Joan was thrilled about it. Maybe _she_ could get him to lighten up and become more sociable. She was very impressed to hear that Louisa had managed to get Martin to dress up as Santa, as she would never have believed it possible, so she was full of admiration for Louisa's powers of persuasion. Martin was quite clearly besotted and completely under her spell.

"Well, as long as you're sure you don't mind," Martin said, but he was really only being polite. He was determined to spend Christmas with Louisa come what may and nothing was going to stand in his way.

"So, what are you going to give her as a Christmas present? You do realise that you are going to have to give her something nice, don't you, Marty?" Joan thought about the usual cheque that he gave her for Christmas, which was generous and useful, but hardly very thoughtful.

"Yes, I know, but I really have no idea what on earth to get. What would you suggest, Auntie Joan?" Martin looked hopefully to her for inspiration.

"Oh no, that has to be your choice, something you have thought of all by yourself," Joan informed him.

"But I really have no idea what she would like. I've never been any good at that kind of thing," Martin protested.

"Well you're just going to have to learn then, aren't you? If you really want to make a go of things with Louisa you're going to have to put some effort in to please her… hmm? Just try to think of something she would like, something you've noticed that she hasn't got, maybe?"

So Martin wracked his brains to try to come up with something that fitted the bill, realising that he didn't have all that long to sort it out. Finally he thought of something and quickly ordered it to make sure it arrived in good time and felt quite pleased with himself for solving the dilemma.

Demeaning himself by stepping in as Santa at Louisa's school seemed to have won him an awful lot of brownie points in her eyes, even if it did mean that Bert kept singing stupid Santa-related songs every time he saw Martin and giving him big winks and nudges about naughty little elves. Quite a few of his patients also tried to crack jokes with him about his Santa role, but Martin just cut them dead with an icy stare before pointedly asking them about their medical complaint.

The evening that they had shared had turned out to be the first of several relaxed evenings spent together. He had invited her back to his house a couple of evenings later, where they had again cooked a meal together, and this had started a regular pattern for them.

So now Louisa found that she was getting used to Martin's preference of eating quite early in the evening, and at least it meant they had a lot of the evening left for… other things.

Martin was getting used to the fact that Louisa liked to have music playing while she prepared their meal, and he even found himself humming along to some of the tracks she played.

Louisa was trying to get used to his irritating habit of always having to give a medical explanation for everything. When she'd told him to go easy on the peppers in a dish that they were preparing because they upset her stomach if she ate too many of them, he'd immediately started to diagnose her.

"Hmm, could be irritable bowel disease, nothing to worry about; however, if you notice any change in your bowel habits…"

"Yes, alright Martin, I think I'm aware of that," Louisa hurriedly assured him, not wishing to discuss her bowel habits during a romantic evening together.

And the romance _was_ developing between them, but at a rather slow pace. Louisa was trying to encourage Martin by wearing things she suspected he rather liked. She realised that when he blushed – his ears were always a dead give-away as they turned red first – it meant that he was affected by something she had done or something in her appearance. She was pretty sure he had a thing for her wearing red, so she subtly wore some red underwear and made sure he caught just a hint of it during the evening. He was so much more relaxed with her in the privacy of their own homes; in fact, he was almost like a different person at times.

Martin could feel himself being drawn in deeper and deeper with his feelings for Louisa, and at times it scared him, but there was no going back. He looked forward so much to spending the evenings with her, and he knew that he couldn't hold onto his control for too much longer. She always looked so fantastic to him whatever she wore, but just lately she seemed to have the knack of wearing things that he found particularly attractive. Yesterday he had caught a glimpse of her red bra as she leant over to serve up his meal. He loved her in red, and the thought of seeing her in red underwear took his breath away for a minute.

Louisa had dropped several none too subtle hints about staying over at some point, but Martin hadn't followed this through. Much as he ached to be with her, he didn't want to appear to be a typical man, only interested in one thing, wanting to get her into bed the first chance he got. He wanted to show her some respect, however old fashioned that seemed to be, and wait until the time was right – and that would be when he had resolved a major conflict that he was struggling with. But it was so hard; they kissed and embraced each evening they were together, and she seemed to have a thing for him to have his shirt undone, because she kept removing his tie and undoing his top button. He had to make himself pull away while he still could and make his excuses to leave or for Louisa to make her way home.

In his typical fashion, he'd tried to logically analyse the attraction between them; the pheromones must be particularly strong between them, he had surmised. But nothing changed the fact that he was still her doctor, she was still his patient, so he had to keep himself under control, no matter what. Having a physical relationship was not an option while that was still the case because doctors were not allowed to sleep with their patients and could be struck off for doing so.

~x~

Louisa suggested to Martin that they could go to the pub on Christmas Eve, as she did every year. There would be live music playing with the 'Fishermen's Friends' band of local fishermen. Louisa thought they were rather good; however, Martin was not at all keen.

"It'll be noisy and crowded in the pub with lots of sweaty people who've had too much to drink. Not my idea of fun," Martin told her sourly.

"Oh come on, it'll help you get into the spirit of Christmas, and I think you need all the help you can get, quite frankly, Martin," Louisa told him bluntly.

"Why can't we just spend the evening together at my house – or your house, like we usually do?" Martin was much happier to do this rather than go out to the pub. But he knew that Louisa liked to mix and be sociable, and he didn't want to upset her too much.

"We don't have to stay late; we can just have a couple of drinks, listen to the music. You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself." Louisa cajoled him, knowing that if he had his way, he would never join in any social event.

"Well, I suppose I could tolerate the village idiots if we went for a short while, just for one drink maybe," Martin agreed begrudgingly.

Sure enough, the crowded pub was Martin's worst nightmare, especially as he was the main butt for numerous Santa-related jokes. Louisa just seemed to take it all in her stride, but he found it highly embarrassing.

"Where've you parked your sleigh tonight then? Don't want to get a parking ticket, do we, Santa?" Joe Penhale winked at him.

"Want some carrots for the reindeers, eh? Hope you've made sure they're somewhere safe, don't want to be clearing up lots of reindeer poop from the roads," Pauline teased him.

"'Ere, if you don't mind my saying so, I think Santa had better watch out with that elf. She must have cast a spell on him 'cos his ears are much bigger than last year," Bert told Martin. "You never know what other spells she might use to make other parts of his anatomy grow, if you know what I mean." Bert now gave Martin a big nudge to emphasise his meaning, spilling his drink over him in the process.

"Oh for God's sake, man, watch what you're doing," Martin told him grumpily as he wiped up the mess before heading off to sit in the corner as far away as possible.

As soon as he sat down, he saw Mrs Tishell approaching him swiftly with a very determined look on her face.

"Oh, God, Louisa, where are you?" he muttered in desperation under his breath, whilst looking frantically around the pub.

"Hello, Doctor Ellingham. I saw how those inconsiderate idiots were making fun of you. Terrible, a man of your standing having to dress up in a stupid costume. What was Miss Glasson thinking of, obviously not your reputation, tsk tsk. _I_ would never have put you in that position," Mrs Tishell said in a very concerned tone of voice. She sat down next to him on the seat and put her hand on his thigh.

"That's what happens when older men get involved with flighty young girls. What you need is a mature woman with a similar intellect as yourself and compatible professional interests," she continued whilst slowly edging nearer and nearer to him… and moving her hand further up his leg.

Martin sat frozen to the seat and just looked at her in utter horror and disgust. He got hold of her hand and firmly placed it back onto her own lap.

"Over here, Louisa," Martin shouted rather louder than he would normally do. He gestured for Louisa to come and join him.

Louisa could see that he was obviously in an extremely uncomfortable situation so she came quickly over, having laughed off her share of the jokes good-naturedly.

"Oh hello, Mrs Tishell, are you keeping Martin company for me?" asked Louisa chirpily.

"Well, someone has to take care of this poor, poor man," Mrs Tishell replied, at the same time stroking his shoulder.

Martin's top lip curled up at the corner in disgust as he shrugged off her advances.

"I'll leave you two alone," Mrs Tishell said in a very disconsolate tone, and as she walked away, she cast Louisa a look that could kill.

"Just as I predicted - lots of uncouth, inebriated, idiotic villagers who seem to have nothing better to do than try to maul me or throw their drinks over me and make jokes at my expense," Martin grumbled.

Louisa leant over and kissed his cheek softly.

"Just relax; there's no harm in any of it, just a bit of innocent fun."

"I'm not so sure that Mrs Tishell's advances are all that innocent," Martin said grumpily. "She asked me what size my underwear was the other day when I was at the pharmacy to collect your… err, I mean when I went to collect an order that I'd placed," Martin hastily corrected himself.

Louisa looked at him with a puzzled expression before continuing, "Oh, she's harmless really. She did the same thing with Doctor Simm and he was old enough to be her father. Has a thing for doctors, I'd say"

"Hmm. If you say so."

At least Martin was consoled by the fact that Louisa was happy, and he was enjoying having her snuggled up against him in the crowded pub. She was by far the most attractive woman there, and he had eyes only for her. If he just stuck out an hour or so in the pub, then he could hopefully persuade her to leave, and then he would have her all to himself, for a while anyway. And tomorrow they would be spending Christmas Day together, just the two of them – his idea of heaven.

Then Martin felt his phone vibrating in his pocket as it started to ring. He reached for it and made his way outside to take the call in a quieter atmosphere. Louisa regretfully watched him disappear.

Within a couple of minutes, Martin was back and shouted in her ear,

"Sorry, I have to leave - medical emergency."

"Oh right, that's a shame, but of course I understand, you have to go," Louisa said.

"No idea how long I'll be. It's Beth Sawle up on the moors, having breathing difficulties. Best just say that I'll see you tomorrow, I think."

"Yes, okay, see you tomorrow," Louisa agreed, watching Martin already disappearing out of the pub.

She heaved a sigh, suspecting that Martin was secretly pleased to have a reason to escape. He was never going to enjoy social occasions, was he? But she smiled to herself in anticipation of spending Christmas Day with him when he would be all hers.

~x~

Louisa awoke the following morning, Christmas morning, to find a missed call and answer phone message on her mobile phone that she always kept by her bed.

She had got home from the pub quite late. The Fishermen's Friends had carried on longer than usual. The atmosphere had been very merry and everyone had really got into the Christmas spirit - everyone that is, apart from Mrs Tishell, who became more and more depressed with every drink she consumed, until finally PC Penhale had to escort her back to her flat, as she was unable to make her own way back safely.

Pauline had taken the opportunity to quiz Louisa about her relationship with Martin. Even she had noticed a slight change in his personality, nothing staggering, but he did somehow seem more contented of late. However, Louisa was giving nothing away, knowing how even the smallest piece of gossip could be turned into major news around the village, and she felt that she had already caused Martin enough embarrassment with his Santa performance.

When Louisa had finally got home, she'd just crashed out on her bed and had obviously not heard her phone ringing.

She reached over and grabbed the phone and, putting it to her ear, she listened to her message,

"Um, oh I really hate these things… Erm, oh, it's Martin, by the way. I… err, just wanted to apologise about this evening. Very inconvenient having to dash off to see Beth Sawle. Anyway, just to let you know I didn't get home until now, um… it's midnight. I wanted to tell you that I am really very much looking forward to spending tomorrow with you, Louisa… well… that's it, bye."

Louisa closed her phone and smiled to herself. Even though originally she had been the only member of the interviewing panel that had raised any objections to appointing Martin as the new GP in Portwenn, she had always been attracted to him, right from the moment when he had slammed his head against the door following his interview, but just recently he had shown her a side of him that she suspected very few people had ever seen. As well as spending rather a lot of time kissing, which she found he was really very good at, they had also had some serious conversations about his upbringing, and this had brought about a closeness between them that she suspected he hadn't experienced much before in his life.

She hadn't been that shocked when he'd told her about how his mother regarded him as an inconvenience. Louisa always thought there must be a reason why he was so emotionally challenged. He never bothered to sugar-coat his feelings; he would say exactly what he thought, even if it was offensive or hurtful, but he never seemed to realise that sometimes his observations were inappropriate.

Deep down, Louisa could see that he was a very vulnerable and damaged man. She certainly didn't want to mother him, but she did look upon him as a special project, just as she did with Peter Cronk. He and Martin had so much in common and she could tell that Martin recognised himself in Peter.

It was still very early, so Louisa decided to have a nice long shower to freshen herself up and complete all the necessary ablutions… just in case things went as she very much hoped they would. Then she would choose her outfit for the day very carefully, to hopefully ensure that she was irresistible to Martin.

~x~

Martin awoke on Christmas morning feeling rather tired. If he didn't get his eight hours sleep per night, then he always suffered from the effects the following day. However, today he felt a sense of excitement that overcame his initial tiredness because of whom he was going to spend the day with – Louisa.

He looked at the clock; it was only 6.30 am and although he didn't need to get up so early, he found that he couldn't get back to sleep. He'd had yet another vivid dream about spending the night with Louisa, so it had been quite a restless night. He'd tossed and turned and when eventually he had woken up for the first time at 3 am, he had been very disappointed to find that Louisa wasn't lying beside him, running her fingers across his chest.

The fact that she was his patient made things very difficult for him. Of course he would never ever do anything inappropriate with a patient, but the fact was that his feelings for her had ignited before he knew she was registered at his surgery as his patient. If their relationship was going to advance to the next level, and he very much hoped that it would, then he really couldn't be her GP any longer, but he just didn't know how to broach the subject with her without causing offence, as he always seemed to do so easily with Louisa.

~x~

Louisa spent quite a while in the shower thinking about the day ahead - the present that she had bought Martin, and what he might have bought her. She couldn't imagine that he would buy her anything romantic, as he simply wasn't the type, but she could always hope.

Louisa was rather worried that Martin seemed to be scared of making the commitment of sleeping with her – either that or his lack of experience with the fairer sex meant that he lacked confidence in the bedroom. Either way, she was doing her best to encourage him to take the next step with her, but he seemed to be reluctant and to be holding back despite her best efforts. It was a puzzle to her, and she was trying to get to the bottom of it. Louisa had no doubt that Martin was very attracted to her - she could tell that in more ways than one - so it was a bit of a conundrum that he wouldn't even allow her to undo more than one of his shirt buttons.

Then she remembered back to a conversation that they had when they had really only just met. She had been dressed as a pirate, wearing the silly eye patch that she had been forced to use following her treatment for acute angle-closure glaucoma.

"It should clear up in a couple of weeks, if not, go and see your doctor," Martin had advised.

"I would, but I got off to a bad start with him," she replied.

"Ah, no, your doctor's a professional… err, am I your doctor?" Martin had asked.

Thinking back now she remembered that he had seemed a little bit disappointed when he'd found this out. Maybe that's what was stopping him from committing himself to a physical relationship with her, that and the fact that Martin _was_ a true professional meant that he would never do anything that went against the Hippocratic Oath. It would certainly explain the conflict that he seemed to be experiencing with her, wanting to be with her, kissing her, but always stopping things from developing any further between them. Now that she had worked this out, she didn't feel rejected by him any more, and it made her look at him in a new light. Most men would simply have given into their desires, but not Martin. It showed his true strength of character.

There was nothing else for it, the only solution that she could see was that she would have to withdraw her name from his patient list and enroll with the Wadebridge practice. It would be a small price to pay, and she was sure that she would always be able to turn to him for his advice, in any case. She just hoped that he would understand why she felt it was necessary and not take offence thinking that she didn't want him to be her doctor.

~x~

After taking his shower, Martin stood in front of his wardrobe and looked at the many suits inside. He wanted to choose one that would please Louisa, so he picked out a dark blue suit that he had been keeping for special occasions – and this _was_ a special occasion as far as he was concerned. Knowing of Louisa's passion for him in an open- necked shirt, he decided that for once he would do without a tie. At least it would mean that Louisa wouldn't need to undo it for him. Her touch was so intoxicating to him that he feared it would be the undoing of his control if she did it again today. Just the memory of her touch on his neck was enough to make his temperature start to rise again.

He had some breakfast and then he slowly got dressed. He had decided upon a dark blue shirt to complement the suit, and when he was finally dressed, he stood in front of his mirror. It took him a while to get used to looking at himself without his tie because he felt as if he wasn't properly dressed, but he was determined that today he was going to make a supreme effort to please Louisa, and that's what she seemed to prefer.

He'd bought some attractive paper for Louisa's present and after carefully wrapping it, he placed a large silver bow on the front and sat down to write the label.

Flowery words weren't really Martin's style, so he just wrote a simple message and then cleared away his breakfast things, in readiness to set off for Louisa's house.

~x~

Louisa stared into her wardrobe. She wanted to pick the perfect outfit that would ensure that Martin wouldn't be able to resist her, and hopefully she would be able to persuade him to stay the night once they had cleared up the conflict of him being her doctor.

She pulled out a short red dress that she thought would raise his temperature nicely. As for her hair, today for a change she decided to leave it down, no ponytail, as she wanted to look elegant and sophisticated for him.

Wrapping his present was going to be a bit difficult because it was an awkward shape and rather large, but she was determined that it would be nicely presented, particularly after what Martin had told her about his Christmas experiences as a young boy. She hoped that these little touches would help to make him realise how special she thought he was.

Once the present was dealt with, Louisa set about preparing the food for their Christmas dinner. As had become their usual routine, Martin would be helping her to prepare it, but because they were eating at her house, she had decided upon the menu, having now got some idea of his likes and dislikes. She'd entrusted Martin with the responsibility of providing some wine for the meal. He may not drink, but he did know a good wine from a bad one, so Louisa felt confident that he wouldn't let her down.

The vegetables were prepared, so all that was left now was to get dressed. Louisa was tingling in anticipation of seeing Martin that day, so she quickly went back upstairs to get ready, as he would be arriving soon.

~x~

After a final look in the mirror, Martin grabbed Louisa's present and the bottle from the table. He put on his coat and then locked up the surgery and started to walk down the hill towards the village.

It wasn't long before he bumped into Bert Large, who was about to open up the restaurant to serve Christmas dinner that day.

"Hey, Doc, I didn't think we'd see you up and around so soon today. Did you get all your prezzies delivered early then?" Bert chortled.

"Very funny Bert. Try not to give all your customers food poisoning today, won't you," said Martin dryly before striding away.

"Don't worry, Doc, we'll try not to disturb your little liaison. Oh… and we'll make sure to raise a glass to your good 'elf'!"

Martin looked back at Bert and gave him a stern stare before carrying on towards Louisa's cottage.

To Martin's relief, he managed to get virtually all the way to the cottage without meeting a single villager. Christmas did have its advantages he decided; it kept them all inside and out of his way for once.

However, just as he knocked on Louisa's door, predictably the group of village girls that seemed to take great delight in stalking him came round the corner singing Christmas songs. As soon as they saw Martin, they abruptly stopped singing and started giggling and whispering. As they approached him, one of the girls started singing again and the rest quickly joined in.

"_We'll hear Louisa shout, we'll hear Louisa cry, we're sure Louisa won't pout,_

_We're telling you why,_

_Santa Claus is foolin' around"_

Martin ignored them and knocked even harder. As the door opened, Martin barged quickly past Louisa and into the cottage.

"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Martin," said Louisa sarcastically.

"Sorry, just had to get away from those idiotic girls," he said in a very flustered state.

"Oh, just ignore them; that's what I do."

"Yes, well, that's easy for you to say. They don't spend all of their waking hours stalking _you,_ do they?" Martin grumbled.

"I think that's a slight exaggeration, Martin," Louisa said as she took his overcoat from him. She immediately noticed that Martin didn't have a tie on and that his top button was open. He looked extremely handsome and she was impressed that he had been thoughtful enough to make a huge effort for her.

Martin thrust a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne into her hand and said,

"I got this; I hope you think it's acceptable."

"Oh, I only expected you to bring a bottle of wine, so this is lovely. Thank you, Martin."

"Hmm, well… it is a special occasion, so I thought it would be appropriate," said Martin, managing a brief smile.

Louisa went to put the bottle of champagne in the fridge. As she turned, Martin noticed that she was wearing a very short red dress. Her silky smooth hair was flowing majestically down her back. She looked beautiful and he wasn't sure if he would be able to control his feelings for her as the day progressed.

He followed her down the steps into the kitchen. He placed the present on the table and then turned to face Louisa. He took hold of her hand and pulled her slowly towards him. His lips captured hers and they shared a gentle, lingering kiss.

"Happy Christmas, Louisa."

"You too, Martin."

"Your present is over there." He gestured towards the table.

"Oh, thank you. I thought we could eat first before we unwrap our presents. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes, yes, that's fine. What can I do to help?" asked Martin.

Louisa gave him a couple of tasks to do, and they worked together in the kitchen, enjoying each other's company, making a very good team.

Finally it was ready and then they sat down to eat. They talked about Christmases past, about themselves when they were younger. Louisa could see that Martin had had a pretty privileged upbringing in financial terms, but had been neglected completely in his emotional welfare. She, on the other had, had always known that her dad loved her, but he had been unreliable and useless in providing any kind of financial security.

As a result of letting go and confiding in each other, they grew closer still over the course of the meal. Martin found himself really relaxing in Louisa's company in a way that he hadn't been able to do with anyone else, so much so, that he even allowed himself a glass of champagne. He was hoping that some Dutch courage would help when he had to tell Louisa that he couldn't be her doctor any longer. He just hoped that she would understand that it showed the depth of his feelings for her.

After clearing away the dishes, they both retired to the lounge. Louisa brought the bottle of champagne through with her and started to top up their glasses.

"Louisa, I have to tell you…"

"Martin, it's only a couple of glasses of champagne; it doesn't mean that I'm an alcoholic."

"No, I really have to say something…"

"Don't spoil it, Martin. We've had a lovely day so far, so why don't we open our presents now?"

With a heavy sigh, he agreed and went to get Louisa's gift from the table_. _He really just wanted to say what he had to say to her, to get it off his chest and not put it off any longer.

Louisa had already placed Martin's present by the side of the sofa, so she reached for it and placed it on his knee.

"Oh, erm, thank you," he said awkwardly. "Really, you should open yours first," he continued.

"Okay," agreed Louisa as she reached for it on the coffee table.

She carefully tore off the paper to reveal a solid green box with a white cross on the front.

"I'm not very good at buying gifts, and Aunty Joan suggested that I should get you something that you didn't have. I've noticed that you don't have a proper first aid box in the house, and I really think that you should have one. You never know when it might be needed," explained Martin.

A little taken a back by the gift, Louisa just smiled."Oh, well, thank you Martin, it's very… thoughtful of you. Although I hope that I won't have to use it any time soon."

"I also got you this," he said, passing her an envelope, very tentatively.

Louisa opened it and took out a piece of paper. At the top it said, "Wadebridge Health Centre, New Patient Registration Form". Louisa stared at it in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Louisa, I can see that I've upset you. If I can just explain…"

"No, Martin, there's no need, really," she said as she gestured to Martin to open his present.

Martin felt sure that he had deeply hurt Louisa's feelings, but he thought it best if he did as she wanted.

He looked at the gift tag and read Louisa's message, "To Martin, with much love always, Louisa." He opened his present, which he noticed had been very carefully and thoughtfully wrapped. After tearing off the paper, he found a decent- sized bag. Louisa told him to open it up, so he unzipped it and inside he found a toiletry bag with toothbrush, toothpaste and shaving accessories. There was also a towel, a flannel and some silk pyjama bottoms. Louisa then handed a very puzzled Martin an envelope. He looked at her before opening it up, and inside he found a letter, asking that she be taken off his patient list.

Finally the penny dropped. Louisa had worked out for herself the reason why he had been holding back, and she had come up with the same solution as he to their problem. Her present was obviously a less than subtle hint that she really wanted him to spend the night with her, whatever it took.

"I've grown very fond of you, Martin, and I hope you feel the same way about me. The last few days that we've spent together have been wonderful. I know you find it hard to express your feelings and sometimes you are rather rude, but you still make me feel special."

Martin just listened in astonishment as Louisa poured her heart out to him.

"If you had wanted to, I would have been more than happy for you to have stayed that night after you dressed up as Santa for me. I want to feel you lying next to me, I want you to take me into your arms and I want you to make love to me. But most of all, I desperately want to wake up beside you in the morning. I want you to be mine."

Martin pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, unable to quite believe that Louisa wanted him, really wanted him, in just the same way that he wanted her.

"It's the thing that I want more than anything else in the world, Louisa. You are the only person that has ever made me feel the way that I do now. I know that I'm not an easy person to get on with. I know that sometimes I can seem… rude, but believe me when I say that I only ever have your best interests at heart. The thing is, if we are going to… um… make love, well then I just can't be your doctor any longer. It's against all sorts of rules, for very good reasons actually, but you know that I will always be here for you no matter what, and all you have to do is pick up the phone and I'll be here."

Tears slowly welled up in Louisa's eyes and started to trickle down her cheeks. Martin gently wiped them away before kissing her gently on each cheek. He felt just as emotional as she did.

He cupped her face softly in his large hands and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him and her hand reached for the back of his neck as she pulled him to her, increasing the passion between them.

"Oh, Louisa, I love you."

"I love you too, Martin. I think I always have," replied Louisa. "There's something else in that bag other than the PJ's that I was hoping we might find a use for," she continued somewhat coyly.

Martin undid the front zip of the bag to find a packet of condoms; he looked at Louisa and could see a smile spreading across her face.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" he said as he took hold of her hand and led her up the stairs.

He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he led her into the bedroom and closed the door, finally able to unleash the passion that he had been struggling to keep in check all the time that she had officially been his patient.

~x~

Louisa smiled happily as she looked over at Martin, still asleep next to her the following morning. He looked so different, vulnerable somehow, with his hair mussed up. He always looked so immaculate normally, so she loved seeing him like this, how no one else ever saw him. She watched him breathing as he slept, taking the opportunity to study him closely, loving his craggy features more than ever now that they had shared the most intimate experience together.

She quickly slipped to the bathroom while he was still asleep to brush her teeth and use a mouthwash. Ever since he had commented on her bad breath, she had been obsessed by her dental hygiene and wasn't going to take the chance of him commenting on it again. As she got back into bed, he stirred, opened his eyes and slowly smiled at her.

"Good morning, my lover," Louisa whispered to him as she lay on her side to look back at him.

"Umm, yes, good morning," Martin replied, taking a moment to recall where he was, and what had passed between them, not quite believing it was true and not one of his erotic dreams.

"No regrets?" Louisa had to ask as she looked at his rather worried face.

"No, no, but, well I just wish that I… that it… well that things had lasted a bit longer," Martin confessed rather shamefacedly.

It had been an amazing experience for him, and he'd wanted to make it a wonderful experience for them both, but he was concerned that he had somewhat let her down in being unable to control his excitement.

"Don't worry Martin; it was great for me too. And this is just the best Christmas present I could have wished for, waking up with you, just being so close to you. It's what I've wanted for a long time," Louisa reassured him.

He had been so sweet, so concerned for her last night, asking her if she was really sure that it was what she wanted, before he had made love to her.

"Yes, me too." Martin reached over to kiss her gently. Louisa giggled at him.

"You're all bristly. I rather like it, actually," she told him as she ran her hand over his chin.

"Ah, yes, I should get up and have a shower and shave, use some of the things you gave me in my bag." Martin started to make a move, but was stopped by Louisa holding onto his arm.

"There's no hurry, is there? We've got all day, I know you said about going to Joan's for Boxing Day tea, but that's ages away. Maybe you could use one particular present of mine before some of the others," she hinted, eyeing the packet of condoms on the side.

Martin relaxed and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want to seem ungrateful for any of my presents, so I should really make use of all of them I suppose."

"There you are then. Would be rude otherwise," Louisa said as she started kissing him.

"Perish the thought that I could be considered rude," Martin said, as he took her in his arms, knowing that this was the best Christmas he had ever experienced.

~x~


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** :– Doc Martin and its characters belong to Buffalo Pictures Ltd, No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating** :– T –for some slight sexual references and minor bad language.

Santa Baby – Chapter 3

by

GuineaGriff

(aka littleguinea & GriffinStar)

"Did you have a nice Christmas Day, Marty?" Joan asked, going over to Martin, who was skulking in the corner of her living room and not socialising at all with the other guests at her Boxing Day tea party.

"Not too bad," Martin replied, with just a hint of a smile hovering around his mouth.

"_Not too bad_ – from what I've heard, it was bloody fantastic, as far as you're concerned," Joan commented as she shot him a very knowing look.

"What do you mean? What have you heard?" Martin demanded to know.

"You were seen leaving Louisa's house this morning, Martin, so I'm assuming you stayed the night, hmmm? And as it's only a one-bedroom cottage, I'm also assuming you shared Louisa's bed?" Joan was enjoying teasing her gruff nephew and watching him squirm.

"There is a couch downstairs actually," Martin replied tersely.

"Oh I see, and did you sleep on that then?"

"It's none of your business, Aunty Joan. God, this bloody village, you only have to fart and it's front-page news," Martin said in exasperation. He should have realised that there were curtains twitching as he'd walked back to his house to get a change of clothes first thing this morning before returning to Louisa's later on.

"Oh calm down. It's about time you and Louisa sorted yourselves out and got on with things," Joan told him as she patted his arm and smiled happily at him.

She'd already noticed how Martin couldn't take his eyes off Louisa and how, although she was chattering to various people while Martin sat quietly in the corner, Louisa kept looking over at him, with a secret little smile playing on her lips.

"So, are things serious between you two? Do I need to go out and buy a hat?" Joan continued.

"What are you babbling on about? Why on earth would you need to buy a hat?"

"For the wedding. If you and Louisa are getting married," Joan managed to keep a straight face whilst saying this.

"Oh really, that's enough. I refuse to discuss this any further," Martin said as he headed into the kitchen, having just seen Louisa head that way.

"It seems that everyone knows about…you know…us," he whispered furiously at her, as he caught up with her.

"So? What's your problem? I'm not your patient any more, am I? It doesn't matter what anybody says or thinks, does it?" Louisa asked as she reached up to peck his cheek.

She had filled in an online application to Wadebridge surgery, as well as filling in and posting off the paper form that Martin had given her. Martin also had her formal signed and dated letter, asking him to remove her from his patient list. She didn't want there to be any risk of Martin getting into trouble because of their relationship.

"Well, no, but… I prefer to keep our private life just that – _private_."

"Then you're living in the wrong place, I'm afraid Martin. You should know by now what it's like in the village. Don't worry about it; it'll soon be old news, and some other gossip will take over. Until then just 'go with the flow,' as Bert would say," Louisa advised him.

"Did I hear my name? Ah, now I hear Santa slipped down his sexy little elf's chimney last night and gave her a very special present, if you know what I mean," with this Bert gave Martin another of his huge nudges and laughed coarsely. Bert always seemed to get himself invited anywhere that there was a free spread of decent food.

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Martin barked at Bert, as he grabbed hold of Louisa's arm and marched her out of the kitchen.

"I'm not staying to listen to all this tittle-tattle, and anyway I've got work tomorrow, so I need to get an early night," said Martin, as he looked hurriedly around for Joan to say good bye.

"But Martin…" Louisa tried to protest, but she could see by the look on Martin's face that he had had enough. He hated this kind of thing, and he hated being teased, never seeming to realise that the way he reacted just made it worse. It just made people want to tease him more to provoke him.

"We're off now, Aunty Joan; my surgery is open tomorrow, so no doubt I shall have a busy day…"

"Ah yes, need an _early night_ do you? Don't suppose you got much sleep last night… at Louisa's…" Joan teased again.

"Not you as well. I'd have expected better of you," Martin told her haughtily as he marched out of the front door with Louisa hurriedly following, having grabbed her coat and bag, shrugging and smiling apologetically at Joan. Still, if anyone knew what Martin was like, it was Joan, she supposed.

~x~

As Martin pulled up in the Lexus outside Louisa's cottage, he took a deep breath and heaved a big sigh.

"I didn't handle that very well, did I?" he admitted.

"No."

"I just can't bear… I'm still getting used to the idea of 'us' myself... so to hear everyone discussing… _you know_… well, I hate it."

"I know, you are a very private person, but sometimes you just make it worse for yourself, being so… so… pompous, as if it's beneath you to admit to having any kind of personal life," Louisa told him.

"No! No, that's not it at all; you know it isn't Louisa. What has happened between us, it's the best thing to have happened to me in a very long time. But it's just between you and me, and having other people joking and whispering about us…" Martin tried to explain.

"Ignore them. It is just between us. So, are you coming in for a while, or shooting off back to your house straight away for your _early night_… all by yourself…?" Louisa asked as she gently placed her hand on his leg.

Just her touch, just the memory of what had passed between them was enough to set his pulse racing. Why should he let gossipmongers affect things between him and Louisa? Sod the lot of them; Louisa was right.

"I didn't say _where_ I was intending to have an early night, did I?" Martin replied as he lent over to kiss her gently on her lips.

"Don't be long parking then," Louisa responded with a happy smile, as she got out of the car and let herself into her cottage.

~x~

By New Year's Eve, things between Martin and Louisa had begun to settle into a comfortable pattern. Louisa was still on holiday from her job. The new school term didn't start until the first week of January, so although she had a fair amount of paperwork and admin to complete, she had more spare time than usual.

Martin's surgery was closed for the Bank Holidays, but was open all the other normal days, so quite often Louisa would prepare a meal for them, and Martin found he enjoyed getting away from his surgery to spend the evening – and night – at Louisa's cottage. Louisa had cleared a shelf for him in her bathroom cabinet to keep things like his toothbrush, and some space in her wardrobe so that he could keep a change of clothes at her place. Louisa didn't like to sleep over at his house during the week, as it was less private. Pauline had developed a sneaky habit of turning up for work a little early, in the hope of catching Louisa coming downstairs, looking for some good gossip to spread round.

Spending the night with Louisa was an experience that Martin now looked forward to impatiently. They were still getting to know each other, gradually overcoming their initial shyness and awkwardness. She had been so sweet, so patient and understanding, never belittling him or laughing at his lack of prowess, so he found that he could relax and let his guard down with her in a way he had not been able to with anyone else before.

Louisa had always feared that Martin would be shy and restrained in the bedroom, and at first this was true to some extent, especially as she felt quite shy too. But then Martin was used to seeing naked bodies in a way that she wasn't, so maybe that was why he seemed to overcome the initial stages quite well – but he wasn't used to anyone seeing him naked, so they both had to build up a kind of trust between them.

The first few times they made love, Martin was disappointed that he didn't seem able to perform as he wanted… to achieve her satisfaction as well as his own. Louisa loved him for his concern, at how unselfish he wanted to be, and reassured him that she wasn't disappointed in any way, that it took time to develop these things – as proved to be true. She wanted to build his confidence, and she was actually quite glad that he wasn't an expert in bed, that they were learning together what worked for them. It brought them even closer to each other.

On the whole, Martin couldn't quite believe how well he and Louisa seemed to be settling together. However, that was not to say that things always ran smoothly between them. He was still remarkably insensitive at times, and she was still rather oversensitive at times. Ever since Louisa had mentioned her slightly embarrassing tummy issues regarding eating peppers, Martin had taken, what she considered, an unnatural interest in how often she went to the bathroom.

"I think you should have some tests done, to rule out various possibilities, just to be on the safe side. You seem to visit the bathroom more than the average," Martin lectured her.

"You are no longer my doctor, in case you had forgotten," Louisa told him huffily, feeling that she could no longer go to spend a penny without Martin taking note. Most women used the bathroom a lot more than men, in her experience, hence the fact that there was always a far longer queue for the ladies toilets at any event.

"Yes, but, I'm only trying to help…" Martin tried to explain, not thinking it was in anyway embarrassing, as he discussed such issues with patients all the time.

"Well, don't! I know what's normal for me," Louisa firmly replied, considering the matter closed.

Martin thought she was being very unreasonable, but he decided that it would probably be best to avoid the subject of her bowel movements… at least for the time being anyway.

Instead he decided to keep a discreet mental record of his observations; that way he would know immediately if there was anything serious to be concerned about. He cared for Louisa so very much and the thought of losing her in any way frightened him. In fact, he had found that he had become so dependent on seeing her everyday that the prospect of getting back to normal after the Christmas and New Year's holidays filled him with dread.

He knew that they would both be tired when they got back into the swing of things at their respective places of work, and inevitably Louisa would want the occasional night on her own… how would he manage without her?

~x~

Louisa had decided that Martin needed to overcome his social phobia, so she'd already warned him that they would be spending New Year's Eve in the The Mote bar. There was a big night planned, culminating in a firework display by the harbour, that the whole village had given money towards. Even Martin had opened his wallet and made a substantial contribution… after much persuading on Louisa's part.

The fact that the display was being organised and run by Bert and Al didn't instill Martin with a vast amount of confidence, but he really didn't want to upset Louisa. She was his whole world, and without her he felt sure it would fall apart around him.

They'd spent the whole day together, visiting Joan and then taking a drive along the beautiful Cornish coast. They stopped several times to sit and take in the stunning views. Quite often they just sat there in silence, Louisa's hand nestled comfortably in Martin's. Other times he would tell her stories about the places he had been to when he had visited his aunt as a child.

Louisa remembered back to a dream that she'd once had about Martin. They were having a romantic picnic above the cliffs at Port Gaverne, and Martin was telling her a beautiful tale. The situation was idyllic… at first. She never once believed that it could ever be like that in reality, and yet, here they were, so at ease in one another's company, as if it had always been so.

They arrived back at the surgery and Martin parked the car. His clothes for the evening were already at Louisa's house, so there was no need for him to go in. Instead they set off down the hill together.

Louisa reached for Martin's hand. At first, he pulled away slightly and looked with uncertainty towards Louisa. She just nodded in order to reassure him, and so with the confidence that her smile gave him, he slipped his hand around hers and walked proudly on.

"Afternoon, you two lovebirds," called Bert as they walked past the restaurant.

"I trust you've got all the possible Health and Safety issues covered for tonight's display," Martin said grumpily.

"Don't you worry, Doc, it's all dealt with; there'll be no problems tonight. You know you can always trust the Larges!" said Bert confidently.

"Hmmm… always trust you to make the _Largest_ cock-up," Martin muttered under his breath. He took Louisa's hand even more firmly in his and strode on.

Bert shook his head as they passed him and carried on down towards the village. The Doc hadn't lost any of his abrasive character, but it was plain to see that he was absolutely head over heels in love with Louisa, and Bert couldn't help observing that they made a very handsome couple.

~x~

Back at Louisa's they had just enough time to get changed before heading off to the pub. They had decided to make an evening of it, so they were going to eat at the restaurant before joining the rest of the New Year's Eve revellers.

Louisa wasn't sure what Martin had decided to wear, but she was pleasantly surprised when he came downstairs wearing another open-necked shirt. He still had his suit on, of course, but he looked very handsome with the slightest glimpse of his chest showing.

She walked over to him and placed her hand around the side of his neck under his collar and drew him towards her for a kiss.

"Oh, Louisa," he sighed. "Do we have to go out tonight?"

"Yes, Martin, we do. Joan is going to be there and she's expecting us. You invited her to eat with us… remember?"

"Ah, yes. Must have been in one of my weaker moments," he joked.

Martin pushed Louisa gently away from him and looked her over from top to toe and all the way back up again.

"You look beautiful, Louisa. I can't believe how lucky I am that you would be even remotely interested in me."

"_Martin_," said Louisa in her schoolteacher's voice. "We've discussed this before and I thought you said that you weren't having these doubts anymore?"

"Yes, yes, I know. Can't help it sometimes," he sighed. And after a brief pause, he continued, "You'll be back at school soon and I'll be properly back dealing with the unwashed masses of Portwenn and, well… we just won't have the same amount of time for each other. I'm worried that we'll drift apart."

"No we won't, don't be silly," said Louisa, but at the back of her mind she couldn't help agreeing with what Martin had just said. The last couple of weeks had been amazing, but would they really be able to keep the romance alive after they were back in a normal routine? Without the romance, she wasn't sure that she'd be able to put up with Martin's idiosyncrasies, no matter how much she loved him… and she did love him, more than she would ever have felt possible.

After they'd shared a lingering and passionate embrace, they managed to steal themselves away from each other and after straightening their clothes – Martin had developed quite extraordinary wandering hands – they set off towards the restaurant to meet up with Aunty Joan.

~x~

"Ah, there you are. I thought you'd decided that you had better things to do!" said Joan cheekily, as she stood up to kiss Louisa and her nephew.

"Uh, no. We'd never do that, Aunty," said Martin, feeling rather guilty that he'd suggested staying in to Louisa.

Louisa cast him a cynical glance as he pulled out her chair for her before sliding it back under as she took her place.

"I've heard that the seafood here is second to none," remarked Martin, who had never eaten there before.

"Yes, it is actually very good," said Louisa, who, being the sociable type, had eaten in most of the restaurants in Portwenn, usually when out on work nights out.

They spent a leisurely hour or so eating and chatting very amiably. Joan was pleased to see her nephew so blatantly happy. He couldn't take his eyes off Louisa, and she noticed how they lit up every time Louisa complemented him on something.

"So, did you have a nice time after you left me this morning?" she asked.

"We had a lovely time," answered Louisa as she reached out to hold Martin's hand across the table. "Martin was telling me about all the places that you took him as a child."

Joan noticed that Martin didn't try to pull his hand away. He seemed comfortable to be so close to Louisa and he wasn't even concerned about any of the villagers gossiping about their intimacy. He'd come a long way and Joan knew that was almost solely down to the beautiful woman sitting opposite him.

"It's a shame that you two have to get back to real life soon… back to work. The holidays seem to go faster every year," commented Joan.

Martin and Louisa glanced across at each other, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

"Excuse me, I must just pay a visit," said Louisa as she stood, and on the way paststroked Martin on the cheek.

His eyes followed her as she walked to the other side of the restaurant and until she turned the corner and he could see her no longer. He made a mental note that this was the second time she'd excused herself, and he also made a note of her menu choice for later deliberation.

"I'm so glad to see you so happy, Marty," said Joan as she placed her hand on his arm.

"I can't remember ever feeling like this before," he admitted.

"I can remember that feeling – feeling as if things could never get any better," said Joan. "But for me… it didn't last. It wasn't my fault and it wasn't… it wasn't John's fault either."

Martin squeezed his aunt's hand ever so gently.

"I don't want to see you hurt, Marty, not like I was hurt. You are a good man – most of the time - you deserve to be happy. What are you going to do to hold onto Louisa?"

His aunt's words sent a rush of panic coursing through his veins and into his chest. Even she could see that he was going to struggle to keep Louisa, and now he knew that his doubts were valid ones. All of the uncertainty came flooding back in a great burst of panic.

"I, I don't know. Perhaps we'll be okay," he said unconvincingly.

"You have to work at a relationship, Martin. You can't let yourself get complacent. It's clear to see that you're both very much in love, but don't take that for granted. Treat her with the respect that she deserves and do try to loosen up a bit. Louisa is a person who loves life and likes people. You need to tune into her wave length a bit more."

"Yes, I know and I am trying."

"I can see that, Marty," said Joan, as she gestured towards Louisa, who was returning from the bathroom.

"Well then you two, shall we make a move next door? We can have a couple of drinks before the fireworks start," said Louisa, as she put her coat around her shoulders.

"Yes, why not. I'm rather looking forward to seeing what Bert and Al have in store for us," said Joan cheerily.

"Total and utter carnage, no doubt," groused Martin.

"_Martin_!" said Louisa and Joan in complete unison.

"What?" he said, shrugging his shoulders. And the two women just tutted and linked arms as they walked out of the restaurant.

~x~

The pub was packed when they got in there and people were spilling outside to see what the Larges were up to. Martin went to the bar to get a couple of glasses of wine for Joan and Louisa and a glass of water for himself.

Walking away from the bar, he quickly located them and was quite pleased to see that they had actually managed to find some seats near the window.

"Here we are," he said as he placed the drinks down on the table.

Louisa patted the seat beside her to indicate that she wanted Martin to sit with her. There wasn't a great deal of room, but he was happy to squeeze in next to her. Anything to feel her warmth, to feel the touch of her thigh against his.

He turned to look out of the window and could see that a large crowd had built up and that they were all watching Bert and Al as they seemed to be struggling to secure a very large rocket into the ground.

"Imbeciles, both of them," mumbled Martin, still gazing out of the window.

"What's the matter now, Martin?" asked Louisa, starting to get a little irritated by his grumpiness.

"Well, just look at them. They couldn't organise a successful piss-up in a brewery," Martin shouted over the noise in the pub, a little louder than he needed to, as he attracted more than a few unwanted glares from the locals.

"They're trying their best, Martin. Anyway, I didn't know that you were an expert in pyrotechnics," said Louisa sarcastically. "Why don't you go and offer them your _professional_ advice."

Martin just turned away from the window and grumbled, "They seem to be finished now."

Joan rolled her eyes as she caught Louisa's attention.

The two women were very much in tune with their thoughts about Martin. But they both loved him, in their own different ways.

"Sorry, I'll have to just…" said Louisa, pointing towards the ladies toilet.

"Again?" asked Martin.

"_Martin_…" warned Louisa. So he just got up to let her squeeze past him.

It hadn't passed him by that this was the third visit that she'd made to the toilet since the start of their evening out. Her bowel problems were obviously getting out of control, and he was going to have to broach the subject with her at some point in the near future, he thought.

~x~

Happy that the display was set up, Bert and Al had now come back into the pub, so that they could have a quick drink before midnight. Seeing the two men return, a group of local boys - that had been watching with great interest as Bert and Al had struggled with the giant rocket - decided to take a closer look at it.

One of them took a lighter out of his trouser pocket and lit the fuse. They all ran back to watch as the firework took off. Before it left the ground though, it tipped sideways so that it was pointing towards the back of the pub.

As the fuse reached the base of the rocket, it screeched off towards the building in a blaze of smoke and sparks. Inside the pub a large shattering noise, followed by a bang, could be heard over all the commotion and the pub fell silent.

Martin immediately sprang up, not knowing what had happened but worried that someone had been injured in some way.

There was no apparent problem in the bar area and everyone started to return to their conversations, but Martin was now concerned that Louisa had taken so long to return from the toilet.

Dragging his aunt out of her chair, they both made their way towards the ladies toilet. Joan went inside.

"Martin, get in here now," she yelled.

Martin's mouth went dry and fear gripped his throat as he instantly knew that something had happened to Louisa. He quickly rushed into the toilet only to find her lying on the floor unconscious with a gash to her forehead.

"Oh, my God," he said as he knelt beside her. He felt her neck and was relieved to find a strong pulse.

He brushed the hair from her forehead, to assess the severity of the cut. Joan looked at her nephew and was suddenly struck by the fact that his blood phobia didn't seem to be bothering him at all. It must be the adrenalin rushing through his body, preventing him from focusing on anything other than Louisa, she surmised.

"Aunty Joan, go and get the pub's first aid kit," ordered Martin.

She didn't think twice and rushed out to find it.

Slowly, Louisa started to regain consciousness and tried to sit up, but Martin gently restrained her and told her that it was better if she remained lying down until he could treat her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, taking hold of her hand.

"Yes, I just fainted I think. I heard this awful noise and then there was such a bright flash and then everything went black," answered a very groggy Louisa.

"Well, you've been very lucky," said Martin, reaching across her and picking up what was left of the rocket from the floor of the bathroom.

"This firework shattered the window; that's the noise you heard and it must have clipped you on its way past. You have a small cut to your head. It's superficial, luckily. Could have been a lot worse."

Louisa looked up at Martin and could see his eyes glistening slightly.

"I'm okay, Martin, honestly. I'll be fine."

"Well, I thought you'd been rather a long time in the ladies, so I knew something was wrong. Just didn't expect to find this," he said, lifting the rocket up again.

"I knew you couldn't forget about my toilet habits," laughed Louisa, as she pulled him down towards her and kissed his cheek. "But thank you, for caring so much about me."

Martin just smiled to himself. For once his obsession with all things medical hadn't got him into too much trouble with Louisa.

After cleaning her cut and applying a dressing to Louisa's forehead, they made their way back into the bar. Everyone crowded around, very concerned about Louisa's welfare. Bert and Al skulked over to offer their apologies, and Louisa grabbed Martin's hand tightly to stop him from launching into a tirade at them about not following Health and Safety guidelines properly.

Martin satisfied himself that Louisa was fine and wasn't suffering from concussion before putting his arm around her as they made their way outside. It was now very nearly midnight, and Bert and Al had taken their places in order to set off what remained of the display.

From inside the pub they heard the locals starting to chant,

"Ten- nine – eight – seven – six – five – four – three – two - one… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And as the countdown ended, the sky above the harbour lit up in a profusion of coloured light. Fireworks exploded in the sky and formed glistening chrysanthemum blooms of gold and silver, and the scream from rockets shattered the tranquillity of the night.

Martin looked across at Louisa, who was staring into the sky, a child like excitement clearly etched across her face. She had never looked more beautiful to him. Beautiful… and yet vulnerable, with the dressing on her head.

If anything had happened to her, he just knew that he wouldn't have been able to go on. His life would have ended, wouldn't have been worth living, without her. He looked across to his Aunty Joan as if hoping to derive some strength from her, hoping that he could find in himself even half of the courage that she had always shown. She looked at him and just smiled, . She was such a dignified woman, such a huge influence in his life.

Turning to Louisa, he took her hand in his and then slowly knelt down before her.

"Martin!" cried Louisa, not quite believing what was unfolding in front of her.

"Louisa, when I saw you in there, on the floor, I thought I'd lost you. I don't ever want to feel like that again. The last two weeks have been the best of my life. I finally feel that I belong somewhere, that I was put on this earth for a purpose. I know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I hope that you feel the same."

Louisa wiped away a tear that had started to trickle down her cheek and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"Louisa, please will you make me the luckiest man alive… please will you marry me?" he asked, quietly.

"Oh, Martin," she said kneeling down beside him, and taking him into her arms, she whispered into his ear, "Just try and stop me."

As they started to kiss, oblivious to anything or anyone else around them, Joan found herself wiping away a tear as the crowds of villagers started to cheer and clap at seeing their Doc finally giving a very public show of his emotions.


End file.
